Sometimes serious, sometimes funny, always trying to be warmth and light, focuses on parenting, and the unique struggles of raising a large Catholic family in the modern age. Updates on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday...and sometimes more!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

What Should the Ordinary American Do?*

As a nation, we’ve established, neither the private sector nor the government have a lock on virtue or vice, in fact, both abuse their positions of power in ways that boggle the imagination of those who are actually part of the everyday 99% not in government higher echelons of power and not brokering big deals on Wall Street. We’ve also established that the media enjoys pointing the camera at anyone who disagrees with the status quo, and the counter media as well. Whoever speaks up gets abused and called a loon depending upon which party one affiliates with –the Tea Party is stupid…the Occupy Wall Street are zombies and thus by decrying both uprisings as illegitimate, stupid, unreasonable, unwashed, uneducated, spoiled, crazy and out of touch, nothing actually has to be addressed.

With the Government, Corporations and Media having shown themselves to be 1) corrupt 2) wasteful and 3) undeterred by public outcry, what do we do?

All I can tell from the demonstrations, from the bloat of government, from the massive layoffs paired with massive profits, the cover ups and disquieting non reporting of scandals, the water carrying for whomever one supports, we've established: We’re a flawed people…this is not news.

Now what would be news is for voices of reason and moral soundness (no dog in the fight), to speak out and help us be the peace makers that Christ asks us to be.
So while it might be reactionary to vote GOP in response, it might be incorrect. Likewise, voting for those who have to this point, exonerating themselves from all guilt for being gluttonous and power grabbing, warring and name calling because others did it first is equally wrong. What is the third alternative? What is the option that would further our society and curb the abuses of these seemingly unbothered Leviathans? I'm not interested in despairing.

If we throw out the standard deviations of both sides, those that allow opponents to scream “SEE? These guys aren’t legitimate, they aren’t worthy of our attention!” what is left?

I know liberals who have good reasons for distrusting corporate America. I know Catholics who hold that voting against abortion is enough. I know conservatives who fear our staggering debt. I know Democrats who vote to try and shore up the safety nets for the disabled, the poor and the needy because they know these programs are needed. In short, most Americans right, left or middle, act in their own lives out of good faith and vote accordingly.

Most Americans, Republican, Democrat, liberal and conservative, moderate or otherwise, are neither the enemy nor the devil. Most Americans want 1) the opportunity to succeed 2) that same opportunity for everyone else. The question is always, how do we get there? Most people disagree with injustices that seem systemic, corruption that is ignored, waste that goes on unchecked, the unraveling of the rule of law and the deliberate manipulation (either by ignoring or painting with words) by media that goes against the best virtues of our nation, right and left and always presumes bad faith.

So what do we do? Not vote? Then we tacitly allow whatever happens to simply be. So disengaging is not the answer. Besides, it's cowardly.

Run and be Palinized by the side that disagrees?

The modern age has the equivalent of mobs of wolves who do not care if your family is destroyed by lies or truth if they disagree and they are not culpable or answerable to anyone in this world. Truth is not the goal, picking the winner is.

I know it’s not enough just to play the roll of gadfly, we need to discern how we must act if we would be thoughtful citizens and help shape the discourse which is right now, merely discord; but I am not sure how to even begin.

3 comments:

I believe one must vote their conscience. I would never support a candidate who would support abortion or Homosexual marriage. I want one who will give the respect to the Constitution that it deserves. I also believe that Republicans are as concerned for the poor as the Democrats. We just want to show them how to succeed rather than keep them on the dole.I really did not come over here to get into the debate though. (Usually I love to debate.) I came over to thank you for your prayers for my daughter Kris.I only today figured out who the Creative Minority is. I was googling and found a link. I am so thankful for your prayers and the prayers of so many people. If you have not been back to my blog, we received good news last week. Her tumors have shrunk by 66%. With that news, she is willing to continue her treatment. Thanks again for your prayers:)

I do not support abortion at all, but I acknowledge that that is merely the beginning of civil civic involvement in the process of politics. It is important that we hold our leaders culpable for other abuses and evils as well, that we not turn a blind eye to torchure, to eroding the rule of law, to erasing the protections provided by the Constitution through creative legislative process, or the excessive spending without any checks, ballances or oversight. Glad to pray for your daughter.

The Chocolate Brain behind the Blog

My name is Sherry Antonetti. I write about the trials and humor of raising children, reflection articles on the Catholic faith lived, and profiles of everyday holiness. Why do I write on these things? To discover the deeper beauty of the martyrdom lived out moment by moment, and to avoid being discouraged or bogged down by minutia. Living out one's faith is an incremental experience of errands, stories, to do lists and details, it is not that we got to everything, but how we treated everyone in the process of trying to get to everything that reveals how much we live in the Holy Spirit, or how much we are estranged.

FAQ'S about this blog, a fabricated interview with footnotes.

Hi! Welcome to my blog. You can read my stuff here and at new.catholicmom.com. I publish there on Thursdays, with Small Successes!

FAQ's about this blog, a fabricated interview*

Q. Why CHOCOLATE FOR YOUR BRAIN?

A. You've heard of Chicken Soup for your Soul...well this is a similar principle. Chocolate, like laughter, produces endorphins in the brain, pleasant feelings, and that's what this blog is supposed to do.

Also, I have a pet theory about Comedy, that Good Humor is like a Chocolate Bar. It contains bits of nuts and a nougat of truth. The chocolate coating makes it go down easier, because no one wants to eat a bar of pure nougat.

Q. Why didn't you name your blog Chocolate for Your Brain in the URL?

A. Because I was new to the blogiverse and did not comprehend at that point how to make a blog much less market it, and therefore, I've just stayed with that URL which promotes my name but unfortunately tells the reader nothing about my blog or its clever title.

Q. It's your blog, why not change?

A. I'm a conservative Catholic, according to the news media, I fear change.

Q. That was funny! How do I leave a comment?

A. Scroll down to the bottom of the posted blog piece. It should look like this:

Q. How can I know if there's new stuff other than when you say you'll post?

A. At the bottom of the page, you'll see Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) Click on it and you can receive automatic email updates that the blog has been updated. I do promise to update it on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday otherwise, so you can just check those times if you'ld rather.

Q. Why do you write a blog, it's not like you don't have other things to tend to, other things to do?

A. I like writing. I like writing to make people laugh. It's good practice for my brain. Consider these stories mental gymnastics, less time consuming than soduku and more fun.

Q. Why aren't all of your articles from the Beaumont Enterprise or Catholic Standard linked?

A. What a thoughtful and observant question! Most of the pieces I've written for both of these publications were not posted on their websites, so I have no links to post. But I've also been at this for now 7 years, so if I linked everything, there would be nothing but links and that gets tedious.Thanks for letting me clear that up.

Q. Aren't I you?

A. Well, yes. But this format made it so much easier to explain everything. Thank you for your time, that's all the questions for today folks.

Sherry, you're doing a heck of a job!

Editor's note from the *. Despite similarities --monitoring communications and fabricating interviews, this blog is NOT affiliated with FEMA in any way.

Despite being satirical on occasion against the current congress and administraiton, this site HAS not been fact checked by CNN.

This blog is not a construct of FOX news, talk radio or a limb of the Republican party or any vast right wing conspiracy.

Thoughts expressed here are my own and not underwritten by the insurance agencies or any other soul free corporations. (Believe me, I'd know if I was being paid).

WAXY CHEAP CHOCOLATE SOLD AT HOLIDAY TIMES IN THE PHARMACY

I work and I write and I suffer but don't feel any guilt about it because You are worth it.

No.No. You don't have to get me anything for Christmas either.

Why?

Because I love you. Not just you but the whole Blogosphere and the whole Blogging world. That's right, I'm just a sentimental ball of mush, sort of like a melted whopper you find underneath the car seat because some kid in the Halloween Candy screening process found and rejected a piece without first offering the offending Chocolate to his mother.

I feel so used.

NOTE: CHOCOLATE FOR YOUR BRAIN UPDATES on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday! Updates are guaranteed by 5:00 pm that day or your money back. What's that? You didn't pay? Wait.... How does this thing work?

Let me know how I'm doing folks! You can email me at sherryantonettiwrites@yahoo.com

Quotables from Sherry's Brain

On pain...

"I don't need anesthesia if I can still crack a joke."

On the absurdity of everyday minutia...

"What Would Flannery O'Connor do?"

On Excellence where ever it is pronounced by an official, movies, politics, books, policies, people...

"If this is the best there is, then man are we in trouble."

On viewing my own karotype after a DNA screening test...

"My geneotype came back normal so all my faults are of my own doing."

On humor:

"Laughter is priceless but don't worry, all of this blog is free."

On what God will say to me one day...

"I gave you all these people, all these gifts. What were you doing blogging away time on the internet?"

My E-Book On Sale!

Click on this to get your copy of The Book of Helen autographed!

WRITING MY NEXT BOOK

The working title is The Book of Penelope.
Continuing the story, we will discover the internal odyssey the wife of Odysseus took from the day he left her side until she finally reinvited him into her heart.
Currently at 75K...and counting. Goal 500 words a day. Stay tuned...

Prayer to the Holy Spirit by Cardinal Mercier

O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You.
Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me.
Tell me what I should do; give me Your orders.
I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your Will.